“Urgh…” Lin Youxie froze on the spot.

Despite her quick wit and familiarity with interrogation techniques, she hadn’t expected Jiang Wang to be so unapproachable and his words so cold.

This arrogant behavior was completely out of character for the Jiang Wang she knew.

It left her momentarily speechless.

“Brother Jiang!”

Fortunately, Zheng Shangming, who had returned, broke her awkwardness.

“Constable Lin,” Young Master Zheng glanced at Lin Youxie, “Are you acquainted with Brother Jiang?”

“You could say that!” Lin Youxie replied.

“Any progress?” Jiang Wang asked directly.

“I found two suitable cases,” Zheng Shangming said, taking out two dossiers and preparing to explain them to Jiang Wang.

“Come over here.” Jiang Wang hooked his arm around Zheng Shangming and walked towards a corner.

Clearly, he was avoiding Lin Youxie.

Lin Youxie shrugged helplessly and watched them leave.

Once they reached the corner, Zheng Shangming whispered, “Is there some misunderstanding between you and Constable Lin?”

He had seen Jiang Wang’s undisguised avoidance of Lin Youxie.

Jiang Wang casually replied while flipping through the case files, “Not really a misunderstanding, perhaps just a clash of personalities.”

He didn’t want to elaborate on Lin Youxie’s subtle suspicions. Explaining it would only make him seem guilty.

“I see.” Zheng Shangming nodded, paused, and couldn’t help but remind him, “Constable Lin’s family has been Green Plaque constables for generations. They have intricate connections within this yamen, and may even be able to speak to some retired bigwigs. If you have any grievances with her, avoiding her is fine, but it’s best not to cause trouble. Of course, I’m not saying you can’t afford to offend her, but we all need to look forward, and there’s no need for it.”

Zheng Shangming’s words were sincere and considerate, and he was being mindful of Jiang Wang’s pride.

Seeing Zheng Shangming again, Jiang Wang repeatedly sensed his transformation. He had truly shed his old skin. This sufficiently demonstrated how profound the humiliation Wang Yiwu had inflicted on him.

At the same time, Zheng Shangming’s words explained why Lin Youxie, a mere Fifth-Rank Green Plaque constable with a Tenglong Realm cultivation, dared to pester Jiang Wang repeatedly, disregarding his threats.

Why Patrol God Yue Leng treated Lin Youxie differently, even taking her along when interrogating Tai Mountain King in the Door of Hell…

Linzi was truly vast, its waters deep, a place where dragons coiled and tigers crouched.

Even the son of the dignified Commander of the Northern Yamen was so cautious of her. The Lin family must have some extraordinary connections that benefited Lin Youxie.

Fortunately, Jiang Wang’s rudeness was limited to words and he hadn’t done anything outrageous.

However, being targeted by a Green Plaque constable without backing was vastly different from being targeted by one with a prominent background…

“There’s no real dissatisfaction,” Jiang Wang said with a wry smile, shaking his head. “It’s just that Constable Lin always pulls me into conversations about things I’m not interested in. I’m just avoiding her.”

Zheng Shangming was thoughtful and said nothing more.

One of the dossiers was about a complex and confusing case, with some obscure clues in the Near Sea Islands.

Something about broken silverware, cracks at the scene, and a bizarre disappearance…

Jiang Wang found it headache-inducing and skipped it.

The second task was much simpler and more direct: apprehend a Rogue Realm fiend.

All that was known was that the person was hiding in the Near Sea Islands, but their exact whereabouts were unknown.

What interested Jiang Wang the most was the person’s identity: an Elder of the Golden Needle Sect.

In the Senhai Source Realm, Jiang Wang’s companions included Su Qiyun, who had disguised herself as a disciple of the Beam Ascending Pavilion but was actually from the Sky Stealing Manor, and Wu Quji, who was from the Golden Needle Sect.

Wu Quji was honest, straightforward, and a true-blue kind of guy. He had a very good personality. His medical skills were quite remarkable, and he was able to concoct an antidote to the Hidden Snake Venom in a very short time.

Jiang Wang got along well with him and had agreed to stay in touch after leaving the secret realm, but he had been too busy and hadn’t had the chance.

Now, he was handling a case related to the Golden Needle Sect.

The Golden Needle Sect was located in Zhuhe County, in the eastern part of the Qi Kingdom, which was also one of the border counties. It bordered Daze County, but was much smaller, about half its size.

The county was named after a plant called “Zhuhe” that grew throughout the area. It was red, and became redder as it ripened, shaped like rice, with densely packed grains.

Because it was produced in large quantities, it was not expensive, but it could be used as food and medicine. It had saved countless lives during famines, so it was also known as “Benevolent Grain”.

Wu Quji had told Jiang Wang that the founder of the Golden Needle Sect had been expelled from the Eastern King Valley because of his poor talent, difficult progress, and because he had offended someone.

After leaving the Eastern King Valley, he wandered the world, disoriented for a long time.

Finally, he settled in Zhuhe County and rediscovered the meaning of life.

He broke through the constraints of his own talent and, inspired by the Eastern King Twelve Needles, created the Calamity Releasing Golden Needles, thus opening the history of the Golden Needle Sect.

The Golden Needle Bone Weaving and Golden Needle Disease Locking techniques that Wu Quji had used were both methods from the Calamity Releasing Golden Needles, each with its own uses.

The Golden Needle Sect had been around for over two hundred years.

Wu Quji was the current chief disciple of the Golden Needle Sect, and his master was the second generation sect master of the Golden Needle Sect.

The perpetrator of this crime was Wu Quji’s martial uncle, Wu Yiyu, an elder of the Golden Needle Sect.

He had plotted to murder Wu Yiyu, the sect master of the Golden Needle Sect, steal the Calamity Releasing Golden Needles secret manual, and had already fled Qi.

The Golden Needle Sect’s only two Rogue Realm experts, one severely injured and on the verge of death, and the other fleeing the country, had no ability to pursue the culprit. They had reported the case to the Zhuhe County Prefectural Government.

But Wu Yiyu had already fled Qi. The Zhuhe County Prefectural Government could not go to the Near Sea Islands to handle the case and lacked the strength to do so. Therefore, they had reported the case upwards, and it had finally accumulated in the Capital’s Patrol and Inspection Office, where Zheng Shangming found it and brought it to Jiang Wang.

“This is the one.” After carefully reading the case details, Jiang Wang slapped the dossier and made a decision.

The information indicated that Wu Yiyu was a First Level Rogue Realm expert.

The strength comparison between Inner Palace Power and Rogue Realm cultivators was that a Power cultivator was slightly weaker than an ordinary First Level Rogue Realm cultivator. After that, if there were no new powers, the gap in strength would widen with each minor realm.

This was because each Starlight Sacred Building brought a terrifying increase in strength. Only equally powerful powers could close the gap.

If each palace could obtain a power, the gap could be kept from widening.

Normally, a Four Palace Four Power cultivator would be slightly weaker than an ordinary Fourth Level Rogue Realm cultivator, but a Celestial Palace cultivator was absolutely stronger than an ordinary peak Rogue Realm cultivator.

Of course, this standard was not constant. With the development of the cultivation world, the Starlight Sacred Buildings of the major top forces were at the same level, and the degree of improvement would not be widened too much.

However, everyone’s powers were different, and everyone’s development of powers varied greatly. The resulting gap could not be accurately judged, and could even be vast.

For example, Jiang Wang’s Samadhi True Fire and Divergent Path were extremely powerful abilities. If developed properly, it would not be difficult to defeat an ordinary Second Level Rogue Realm cultivator in terms of raw strength.

Another example was Li Fengyao. The power she obtained in her first palace aided her cultivation and had great value, but in combat, it might not allow her to defeat an ordinary First Level Rogue Realm cultivator.

A First Level Rogue Realm Wu Yiyu, for Jiang Wang, was not something he could obtain effortlessly, but he was seven or eight tenths confident.

The remaining two or three tenths depended on how to find Wu Yiyu.